It was a day to forget for the batsmen and a day to cherish for the bowlers as 21 wickets fell during day one of the match between Nalanda and Lumbini played at the Nalanda grounds.
Nalanda College won the toss and elected to field first and bowled out their opponents for 74 runs in the first innings within 35.4 over’s. The Lumbini batters failed to see out the early morning moisture in the pitch and the Nalanda bowlers took maximum use of it with Pramud Hettiwatte grabbing 3/20. The left arm leg spinner, Hettiwatte caught on the advantage after the initial burst by Malinga Amarasinghe and Malinga De Silva. Amarasinghe finished with impressive figures of 2/9 while De Silva ended his bowling spell with 2 wickets for 16 runs.
For the visitors Harusha Iddamalgoda top score with an unbeaten 22 while Thanura Dhabare chipped in with20 runs.
The home side then came out to bat and they too were all out cheaply for 76 runs in 36.2 over’s. It was a pathetic display of batting by both sides as they gave away their wickets almost at will. Right arm off spinner Chamara Nishantha was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors grabbing 4 important wickets for just 22 runs. He got good support from right arm quick bowler Wasana Madushanka who finished with 3/16. The host’s could not get a grip of their own wicket as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals. Lahiru Wijeratne was the only batsman to make noteworthy contribution as he finished with 19 runs to his name.
Lumbini batting in their 2nd innings were 20 runs for the loss of 1 wicket after 13 over’s. It was cautious batting in the 2nd innings by the visiting team with a lot of defensive shots being played.
Scores in Brief
Lumbini College 1st innings 74 in 35.4 over’s (Thanura Dhabare 20, Harusha Iddamalgoda 22*, Malinga Amarasinghe 2/9, Pramud Hettiwatte 3/20, Malinga de Silva 2/16)
Nalanda College 1st innings 76 in 36.2 over’s (Lahiru Wijeratne 19, Wasana Madushanka 2/23, Chamara Nishantha 4/22)
Lumbini College 2nd innings 20/1 at the end of day one in 13 over’s
